What's Hot: Charges many devices, has lots of power and is very portable.

What's Not: Charges and charging a bit too slow.

If you need some top up on your iPhone 4's battery life or some extra juice to make it to the end of a day, small battery packs such as the Enercell Portable Power Bank will do the trick. But if you are taking several devices on a trip and might be away from a power outlet for long periods of time, you will need something more serious. Proporta USB TurboCharger 5000 fits the bill with 5000mAh rechargeable battery and it can simultaneously charge two devices. And with all that power, it weighs only 5.4 ounces and is very portable.

Design

The Proporta USB TurboCharger 5000 has an unassuming look measuring only 4.33 x 2.8 x 0.59 inches. The battery pack has a smooth black surface that?s not slippery and feels soft in hand. The portable charger has one mini USB port for power input and two regular USB ports for charging mobile devices. On the front of the TurboCharger 5000 you will find the on/off button for charging, which is a nice design to keep the battery turned off when it?s not powering anything. There are three LED light strips next to the on/off button which will turn on when it?s charging a device or when the battery pack is being charged. You can also use the LED to check for power level: just press the on button and see how many LED strips light up.

Right light only: <30% power leftMiddle light and right light on: 30-70% power leftAll lights on: 70-100% power left

Features

With 5000mAh capacity, the Proporta USB TurboCharger 5000 can put out a lot of power. In our tests, it charged the iPhone 4 2.5 times from 0% power to 100% and twice fully charged an iPad. The TurboCharger can also charge any smartphone, GPS or digital camera with a mini USB or a micro USB connector, the Nintendo DS Lite as well as the Sony PSP. How does it work? Proporta includes several connector heads for Nokia phones, Sony Ericsson phones and more, and these connector heads all plug into the retractable USB connector. All you have to do is switch the connector for a different device.

For those who use both an iPad and an iPhone or a smartphone, the Proporta offers a high voltage socket for charging the iPad and a low voltage socket for charging smartphones and digital cameras. This is very handy because the portable battery pack takes its time to charge devices, and the high voltage port speeds up the iPad charging. It takes about 4-5 hours to charge a device fully from zero power and you will need an extra USB cable from Proporta to charge two devices at the same time. If you happen to plug your iPhone into the high voltage USB port, don?t worry, it won?t hurt your phone or camera.

The Proporta USB TurboCharger 5000 comes with a USB to mini USB cable, and you can charge the battery pack using your computer or a world USB AC charger. The Proporta charges slowly, and takes at least 6 hours to charge from below 30% to 100% power.

The Proporta USB TurboCharge 5000 is for the serious power hungry users who take multiple gadgets and devices with them on the road or go camping with electronic gear. With a full charge, the Proporta can get you through a few days of phone charging and even a couple of full charges for the iPad tablet. The battery pack is very small for the high capacity it carries and can charge two devices at once. The high voltage port is handy for the iPad and iPad 2, and a variety of connectors that it comes with mean you can use it with just about any phone, camera or GPS on the market. The only drawback for the Proporta USB TurboCharger 5000 is that it takes its time to get charged and to charge mobile devices. Luckily, the battery pack holds power very well in standby, so you can charge it up before you leave and have full power when you need it on the road. And you can use your device while it?s being charged.